My picks from ScienceDaily

One Species' Entire Genome Discovered Inside Another's:

Scientists at the University of Rochester and the J. Craig Venter Institute have discovered a copy of the entire genome of a bacterial parasite residing inside the genome of its host species. The finding, reported in Science August 30, suggests that lateral gene transfer--the movement of genes between unrelated species--may happen much more frequently between bacteria and multicellular organisms than scientists previously believed, posing dramatic implications for evolution.

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Fruit Flies Prefer Fizzy Drinks:

That fruit fly hovering over your kitchen counter may be attracted to more than the bananas that are going brown; it may also want a sip of your carbonated water.

A Genetic Trigger For The Cambrian Explosion Unraveled?:

A team of scientists led by young Croatian evolutionary geneticist Tomislav Domazet-Lošo from Ruder Boškovic Institute (RBI) in Zagreb, Croatia, developed a novel methodological approach in evolutionary studies. Using the method they named 'genomic phylostratigraphy', its authors shed new and unexpected light on some of the long standing macroevolutionary issues, which have been puzzling evolutionary biologists since Darwin.

Wolves Find Happy Hunting Grounds In Yellowstone National Park:

If Mark Boyce could converse with elk, he might give them a word of advice: avoid open, flat, snowy areas near rivers and roads. A biological scientist at the University of Alberta, Boyce analyzed 774 wolf-elk kill sites and concluded that spatial patterns of predation between wolves and elk are more strongly influenced by landscape features than by wolf distribution.

Saving Tiny Sea Turtles Nesting By The Space Shuttle:

On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Space Shuttle Endeavour sat bathed in glowing light, silhouetting the vehicle against the dark night sky over the seaside complex. It may sound like an awesome and idyllic scene, but not for nesting sea turtles and their newly hatched babies. During their summer nesting season, these turtles emerge from the ocean along the pristine beach within 200 yards of the space shuttle launch pads. The light emanating from the pads can deter the adults from coming ashore to lay their eggs and disorient the hatchlings as they emerge from their nests and head toward the moonlit sea.

Eating Together As A Family Creates Better Eating Habits Later In Life:

Eating together as a family during adolescence is associated with lasting positive effects on dietary quality in young adulthood, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.

When Bivalves Ruled The World:

Before the worst mass extinction of life in Earth's history -- 252 million years ago -- ocean life was diverse and clam-like organisms called brachiopods dominated. After the calamity, when little else existed, a different kind of clam-like organism, called a bivalve, took over.

Baiji Dolphin Previously Thought Extinct Spotted In The Yangtze River:

The reported sighting of a Yangtze River dolphin, or Baiji, means there is still a chance for people to take further action and protect the cetaceans in the Yangtze from extinction, according to World Wildlife Fund.

Humpback Whales Recorded Clicking And Buzzing While Feeding For First Time:

For the first time, researchers have recorded "megapclicks" -- a series of clicks and buzzes from humpback whales apparently associated with nighttime feeding behaviors -- in and around NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.